Sabattus Planning Board reviews five-year capital program, flags labeling and line-item questions; no action taken

Members of the Sabattus Planning Board reviewed the town manager's proposed five-year capital program and raised several questions about how specific line items were labeled and timed.

The board discussed the charter requirement that the town manager submit a five-year capital program (referencing Article 6 and planning-board responsibilities in Section 5.5.1). Members said some columns in the spreadsheet appear to be shifted by a year so that entries labeled FY26 should be FY27, and that the labeling makes it hard to compare year-to-year costs.

Board members identified specific cost drivers that merit follow-up, including scheduled paving, a roof replacement, equipment such as an excavator and a sidewalk machine, and large entries tied to the fire department and the transfer station. Members also asked why an administration vehicle did not appear in the current list and whether vehicles retired or transferred between departments (for example, from police or fire) were being recorded correctly.

Participants noted the difficulty of projecting multi-year costs and said some entries look like placeholders or rolling estimates rather than firm purchase commitments. One member recalled seeing the presentation to the select board and suggested that a mislabeling of fiscal years likely explains much of the apparent variance.

The board agreed not to take formal action at the meeting. Members asked staff to clarify the fiscal-year labeling and provide corrected spreadsheets, to coordinate with the budget committee when departments present capital requests on a rolling schedule, and to arrange follow-up briefings (for example, from utility or electric representatives) where technical context is needed. No motions or votes on capital items were recorded.